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Kaname Muto / The Yomiuri Shimbun Shinnosuke Oka beams while holding a Japanese flag bearing messages of support after he won the men’s all-around gymnastics gold medal in Paris on Wednesday.
By Tsukasa Oya / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter
17:40 JST, August 1, 2024
PARIS — As the announcer declared Shinnosuke Oka the Olympic champion, the Japanese gymnast stepped onto the podium and raised his fists in victory. After the gold medal was placed around his neck, Oka looked down and touched his prize with both hands. Oka briefly lifted his head, and then again looked at his medal as if to check that it was still really there as the Japanese national anthem swelled to fill the arena. Oka wasn’t dreaming; he was the men’s individual all-around gymnastics Olympic champion.
Oka was in the group of the six top qualifiers who began their quest for Olympic glory in the floor exercise. Former world champion Zhang Boheng of China had a fall during his floor routine, and fellow former world champion Daiki Hashimoto slipped from the pommel horse. Oka stayed composed and steadily chalked up high scores through each rotation. The closely fought event went down to the final apparatus — the horizontal bar. Oka delivered a polished performance and clinched a narrow victory over Zhang.
Born in Okayama Prefecture, Oka began gymnastics when he was 4. After graduating from junior high school, he joined the Tokushukai Gymnastics Club rather than his high school’s gymnastics club. Oka was the 2019 world all-around junior champion, but he severely injured his right knee during a competition in 2022 and had to undergo a grueling rehabilitation process.
Although he stands less than 160 centimeters tall, Oka’s dynamic performances and masterful handstands honed through practice ensure he loses few points during his routines. He impresses onlookers with his beautiful performances even though he sometimes struggles to control himself and exert the right amount of power.
Isao Yoneda, Oka’s coach at Tokushukai, affectionately calls him “a Ferrari,” expressing his belief that Oka has potential to improve further.
“I’m really happy,” Oka said during an interview after the medal presentation ceremony. Despite this, he was not getting carried away by this result. “My routines weren’t perfect,” Oka said.
Oka is still only 20, and it seems that his career is set to really pick up even more speed in the years ahead.
